Dear Reader, The website Distributing Drinking Water, Evaluation Criteria and Guidelines has been updated by adding version 9 of the FAQ information document – Testing and certification practice for products in contact with drinking water: implementation of the evaluation criteria and the recommendation for attestation of conformity. Your department for Drinking Water and Swimming Pool... read more
Newsletter "UBA aktuell" - No.: 2/2024
Welcome to the new issue of “UBA aktuell” in which we look back with you on 50 years of the German Environment Agency and our work for people and the environment. You are warmly invited to join us on a journey through time! This newsletter also includes the latest figures on Germany's greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 and the new CO₂ border adjustment mechanism CBAM to create fair international com... read more
Online platform DIVID of the Single-Use Plastics Fund launched
The Single-Use Plastics Fund Act, passed on 15 May 2023, obliges manufacturers to bear the costs for the collection of their single-use plastic products when discarded as waste in streets or parks from 2024. The German Environment Agency is setting up the digital platform DIVID to manage and process the levies that companies must pay into the Single-Use Plastic Fund. read more
Blue Angel for wood-burning stoves: Dust precipitators can reduce ultrafine particles by 97 percent
The Hesse State Agency for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology (HLNUG) investigated the emission of ultrafine particles (UFP) and the effectiveness of electrostatic precipitators to reduce fine dust emissions from a wood-burning stove. read more
National emissions trading: CO₂ emissions fell by 5.9 per cent in 2022
In the second year of the national emissions trading scheme (nEHS), emissions within its scope amounted to 288.5 million tonnes of CO₂. read more
Assessment value set for plasticisers in urine
At its meeting on 22 March, the Human Biomonitoring (HBM) Commission at the German Environment Agency (UBA) derived a health-based assessment value (HBM value) for mono-n-hexyl phthalate (MnHexP) in urine. read more
Water body of the year 2024 – Shallow coastal waters of the Baltic Sea
The shallow coastal waters of the Baltic Sea are not only popular with holidaymakers, but also provide a home for many creatures in seagrass meadows, dense algae forests, rocky reefs and mussel beds. read more
Climate emissions fall by 10.1 per cent in 2023 – biggest decline since 1990
In 2023, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Germany fell by 10.1 per cent compared to 2022. This is shown by new figures from the German Environment Agency (UBA). The reasons for this are the increased share of renewable energies, a decline in fossil fuel energy production and lower demand for energy from industry and consumers. read more